Babysitting Doesn't Get Any Easier
by FeeBe
Summary: Lily and James have left Harry with Sirius again. You would think that they would learn. Or that Sirius would. Sequel to- Babysitting is Hard To Do. Trick or Treat Challenge


Sirius has been babysitting Harry again.

Sirius was sitting in the lounge room, curled up beside the small boy. His furry body wrapping around the chubby baby, trying to keep him warm. Small hands fisted into his fur and….Ouch! Pulling!

He wasn't quite sure how he had ended up here. After the last night he looked after Harry, just before the Potters went into hiding, he had vowed never to do it again. A nights spent worry, no… not sleeping thank you very much James, in that rocking chair had done something to his back and he was sure it would never be the same again.

Still here he was, he had been presented with a handwritten note, which was odd because Peter could just have told him the address, after all Sirius knew who the actual secret keeper was, and told that he was on baby sitting duties for the morning because Lily was needed for Order business and James wouldn't let her go alone.

He hadn't argued, there was enough of that going on as it was. What with Remus always away, Peter always at work and Lily and James hidden. Too many points of contention, too much death and destruction, everyone always on edge. Clearly there was a spy in the order and it was easy to throw blame on the people who weren't there. Still Sirius couldn't see the point Dumbledore had in sending Lily on a mission now. For crying out loud she had a child to look after!

Said child snuffled a bit and rubbed his snotty face against Padfoot's fur. Ewwww! Sirius wondered if he should turn back, then decided against it. The last time he had done that Harry had cried for half an hour and that had led him to the predicament he was currently in with the sleepy child snotting on him and pulling out his fur.

He supposed the tantrum Harry had just had was his own fault when he looked at it. Well actually if he had to blame anyone it would be Lily and James for skipping out on their son. Still he probably shouldn't have given Harry coco pops for breakfast, or the liquorice wands, certainly in hindsight the Bert Bott's Every Flavoured Brand had been a mistake. However he couldn't deny that the Fizzing Whizbees had been a grand idea. Harry had certainly enjoyed floating around the living room. It was when he came down that the problems started.

Sirius groaned and glanced around the room as he remembered. He had arrived that morning and as was usual, Lily and James weren't ready, sure they had eaten, but for some reason Harry had slept in and they were only just pulling him out of his cot. They had handed him over with a quick, "don't forget to give him breakfast and lunch," and then they were out the door, and disapparating from the driveway with a pop. Harry had started to cry immediately.

"Mama, mama, mummy!" Tears brimmed in his eyes.

Right Sirius wasn't going to let this go on like the other night, what he needed was a distraction. Food! Yep that always worked for Pete and actually Sirius himself when he thought about it. Huh! He remembered all the times, Remus had shoved food in front of him when he had been asking questions about which girl Mooney was seeing! Right well, now he had him sussed that wouldn't be happening again! So…..breakfast.

He balanced Harry on one arm as he inspected the kitchen. Breakfast type foods? What did Lilly normally make? Oh yeah! Toast. He went and opened the bread box. Right two hands required for cutting the bread he would have to put the Prongslet down. So he bent and placed the boy at his feet.

"Just stay there Prongslet while I get you some toast," he told the little boy.

"Up Unca Si'us." Harry reached up towards the man and clasped and unclasped his hands.

"In a minute Harry, I just have to cut this. Now where's the bread knife? Right, top drawer."

Harry however wasn't willing to wait and had pulled himself up on the cupboard, as Sirius took a step towards the drawers Harry latched both arms around the man's leg, holding on for all he was worth. Sirius stopped at the unexpected weight on his leg.

"Come on you little limpet," he hobbled over to the other side of the kitchen with his little cling-on. "You're not making this easy for me Harry," he told the boy sternly.

"Not easy?" Harry asked.

Sirius shook his head, "Not easy at all."

Sirius successfully liberated the knife from the drawer and holding it carefully, limped back to the bench. Lily would kill him if he cut the bread directly on her bench tops! Where was the bread board? Damn, it wasn't on the sink drying, which was where it usually was. Sod it all, he was just going to summon it.

"Accio breadboard," there was a rattling in one of the cupboards, before every single plastic container tumbled onto the floor and the bread board flew into his hand. "Aww shite!" Sirius swore.

"Aww shi…." a little voice echoed, Sirius dropped the bread board and quickly covered Harry's mouth ending the sound.

"No no no no no Prongslet. You don't say that, it's a….." Sirius searched for a suitable explanation. Why did this always happen to him? Why couldn't it happen to Mooney! "right it's a not very good word, and we don't say it in front of Mummy. Okay? What don't we say in front of Mummy?"

"Aw Shite," Harry dutifully responded.

"Don't say it again Prongslet. Lily is going to kill me!"

"Kill me, kill me," chirped the black-haired Marauders son.

"Right breakfast!" Sirius quickly cut a slice of bread and buttered it, before putting Harry in his high-chair at the table and plonking the plate in front of him.

Harry carefully inspected the offerings before turning a betrayed look on Sirius.

"Not tost Pa'foo!" he pushed the plate away flipping the bread on to the floor buttered side down.

"Harry, that's naughty," Sirius scolded trying to sound stern. Harry promptly burst into tears.

"Hungy Pa'foo! Hungy."

"Right stay there, I'll see what else there is."

Sirius decided when he realised he didn't know how to use Lily's muggle toast maker thing. Eventually after much rummaging around , and grizzling from the high chair, he found a packet of cereal hidden up the back. Ok, cereal he could manage. Coco Pops- check, Bowl- check, Milk-check, spoon-check. Mission accomplished, cereal presented.

Harry certainly loved the chocolatey, sugary treat and it wasn't long before he was bouncing up and down in his seat.

"Hey, woah! Careful now, baby boy! You going to …."

Harry's hand came down on the edge of the bowl, spilling chocolate milk and rice crispies everywhere.

"Harry!"

Harry kept bouncing and now began playing in the chocolatey mess on his tray table.

"Right mister, let's get you washed up!"

Harry screamed as Sirius lifted him from the chair, and started slapping his hands about at anything he could reach, which primarily included Sirius' nose, face and chest.

"Aww! Harry!" Sirius complained. "That hurts."

He placed the child on the floor, where Harry proceeded to make interesting patterns on the cream coloured carpet with his dirty hands.

"Stop that Prongslet!" Sirius snapped, when he came back with a wash cloth to clean up the boy. Harry froze and turned wide green eyes on Sirius and burst into tears again.

"Argh! Right, breathe Sirius breathe," the man coached himself. "He's only a baby, he doesn't know any better. In…out…in…out. Right, come here Harry." He bent and picked up the boy. "Sorry little man, Padfoot didn't mean to be grumpy."

"Grumpy Pa'foo," Harry repeated trying to stick his fingers up Sirius' nose.

"Yes!" Sirius agreed. "And please stop doing that!" He grasped the hand closest to his face.

"O'tay," Harry snuggled into the big warm chest.

"Right," Sirius searched around. He needed something for Harry to do while he cleaned up the kitchen. Digging around in his pockets he found a liquorice wand. "Here Harry you ply with this while I clean up ok?"

"O'tay," Harry agreed immediately sticking the wand in his mouth.

Sirius placed him back on the floor and moved to the kitchen to clean up the mess. He had been out of the room less then two minutes when there was a screech.

"Mrow!"

And a crash. That had him hurrying back. Harry was leaning up against the side table with the liquorice wand handing out of his mouth and a hand full of white fur stuck to sticky fingers. Little black sticky hand prints ran around most of the room about two feet off the floor.

"Dear Merlin! I was only out of the room for….. Right mister you're staying with me from now on!"

Sirius never did make it back to the cleaning. Later when he tried to put Harry down so that he could go to the loo. The boy had started crying until Sirius had turned into Padfoot, which was exactly where they still were. Sirius closed his eyes. Hopefully the little one would nap for just a bit longer, then he would get up and put the house to rights.

Sirius was still napping half an hour later when two pops could be heard from the front garden, and a key turned in the lock. He opened his eyes to see the very angry face of a redhead glaring at him, and he cringed as she began, "What on earth has happened here Sirius. Do you even bother to think at all…."

But she was interrupted before she could really get going by a tiny voice piping up, "Aww Shite!"


End file.
